By Sardar Khan Niazi
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar hosted a dinner in honor of APNS. Federal Secretary Ambreen Jan, PIO Mubashir Hassan, APNS President Sarmad Ali and me, along with other officials, were present at the dinner on Tuesday.
During the dinner, the Federal Minister of Information was informed about the problems faced by newspapers.We also had the opportunity to answer questions to Atta Tarar. The Minister of Information listened carefully to all our questions and gave satisfactory answers, as well as assured of resolving all the problems.
Today's political and governmental era has changed a lot compared to the past. On the one hand, while government performance is essential, on the other hand, it has also become very important to moderate public opinion regarding performance. If the government fails to moderate public opinion about its performance, then its popularity and vote bank are certain to decline. In this era of social media, it is becoming difficult to judge truth from falsehood. In the era of the Fifth and Sixth Generation War, the battle of narratives has become more important. When Atta Tarar held the portfolio of the Ministry of Information, there was talk of the PTI narrative and it seemed that it would be very difficult to break this narrative. But Atta Tarar skillfully not only broke the narrative but also succeeded in popularizing the PML-N narrative.
The Federal Minister of Information worked with great effort and dedication to shape public opinion about the government's performance. The credit for forming a capable team also goes to him. Federal Secretary Information Ambreen Jan, PIO Mubashir Hassan and others are doing an excellent job. PIO Mubashir Hassan has taken on a considerable burden of work and is handling this responsibility well.
The team that Atta Tarar has formed should continue in the future as well. The Federal Information Minister himself is also very hardworking. Whether it is propagating the government's narrative or responding to the opposition, he is seen playing on the front foot on every front. Atta Tarar's unforgettable role during the Indo-Pak war cannot be forgotten.
Information Minister Atta Tarar was successful as the government spokesperson because now it is common knowledge that the government is working and the opposition is only trying to spread chaos. This is a huge victory for the government, PML-N and Atta Tarar's team.
In my column of March 2024, I had described Atta Tarar's appointment as a breath of fresh air for the media. I had written that his appointment would be very helpful in presenting government policies and party narrative in the best possible way, and that is what happened.
In the era of social media, the importance of newspapers has increased because there is no room for lies and fake news in newspapers. In such a situation, immediate solutions to the problems faced by newspapers are necessary. Atta Tarar is the only minister who listens attentively to the problems faced by the media and talks about their solutions.
APNS President Senator Sarmad Ali also plays a major role in resolving the problems faced by the media. Sarmad Ali is also a senator of a political party, due to which his responsibilities have increased greatly, but despite this, Senator Sarmad Ali is seen working day and night to resolve the problems of the media from the APNS platform.
Whether it is APNS Executive Director Dr. Tanveer or the rest of the team members, everyone is playing their respective roles perfectly. President Sarmad Ali's team is working tirelessly, which is why the problems faced by the media are being resolved, for which the credit goes to President Sarmad Ali.